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Chromebook - Any way to install non-online software?

B

bigmacrumors

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 21, 2017
17
8
Hi,

I recently bought a chromebook (for only 200$ luckily) as I wanted to avoid Windows at any cost. But I'm starting to regret my purchase.

However it has some cool features, using the Chrome OS is very frustrating.
IMO, when it comes to the online experience, the Chromebook beats any Windows-based computer and even any Mac hands down (just my opinion).
And that's pretty much it. Installing any software is simply impossible. And the online alternatives are crap. Even the online Gimp, which I love as an alternative to Photoshop on my Mac, is horrible!

Does anyone know how to install those softwares we can find on Windows or Mac?

BMR
 
bigmacrumors said:
Does anyone know how to install those softwares we can find on Windows or Mac?
Click to expand...

Nope, you can't. Chrome OS is utterly useless if you want a typical computer experience. Even TeamViewer and LogMeIn aren't supported on it (if Chrome OS is the client, rather than the host).
 
Yep, chrome OS is a sandboxed environment. If you can't use an online app in Chrome, you are SOL.

That said, new Chromebooks now have full Android support, so many more options are now available that didn't exist prior to the merger.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
Yep, chrome OS is a sandboxed environment. If you can't use an online app in Chrome, you are SOL.

That said, new Chromebooks now have full Android support, so many more options are now available that didn't exist prior to the merger.
Click to expand...

:(
Luckily I only threw 200$ for that piece of crap! Nothing I can do with it besides checking my emails, reading the news and using google drive :(:(:(
 
dont worry ChromeOS will be getting more features down the road. Funny how last year Chromebooks outsold Mac for such a useless product.
 
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bigmacrumors said:
:(
Luckily I only threw 200$ for that piece of crap! Nothing I can do with it besides checking my emails, reading the news and using google drive :(:(:(
Click to expand...
Chromebooks are good for certain things, assuming you are deep in the Google matrix. Docs and sheets for example are used by tons in business environments, and they are great for schools that don't want to spend a lot on IT.

But if you actually want to run programs (a la Windows), it def is not a very good thing to buy. I plan to buy a newer Chromebook soon that runs Android and can be used as a hybrid. For me it kills two birds with one stone.
 
Even without doing any research the fact that the product name mentions Chrome and has limited storage space should be a giveaway that it's cloud based Chrome apps.

The other possible option is to find out if your Chromebook model supports Crouton so you can install and run Linux version of Gimp.
 
bobenhaus said:
dont worry ChromeOS will be getting more features down the road. Funny how last year Chromebooks outsold Mac for such a useless product.
Click to expand...

First, let's be accurate. Chromebooks out sold Macs in education in the US. And considering the Chromebooks that schools are purchasing likely cost a fraction of the price of even the lowest spec'd Mac, it shouldn't be surprising in the slightest. To their credit, Chromebooks are a lot easy to manage from an IT perspective at schools.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
Chromebooks are good for certain things, assuming you are deep in the Google matrix. Docs and sheets for example are used by tons in business environments, and they are great for schools that don't want to spend a lot on IT.

But if you actually want to run programs (a la Windows), it def is not a very good thing to buy. I plan to buy a newer Chromebook soon that runs Android and can be used as a hybrid. For me it kills two birds with one stone.
Click to expand...

Yes, like I said in my original post, in my opinion it is the very best OS when it comes to web browsing and doing/sharing stuff on the Internet.
But when you need to do actual work (editing a picture, editing a video,...) this OS is even worse than Windows (which is quite a feat).
 
bigmacrumors said:
Yes, like I said in my original post, in my opinion it is the very best OS when it comes to web browsing and doing/sharing stuff on the Internet.
But when you need to do actual work (editing a picture, editing a video,...) this OS is even worse than Windows (which is quite a feat).
Click to expand...
Yes, but that's like saying my cellphone sucks at sawing wood. It's a given.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
Yes, but that's like saying my cellphone sucks at sawing wood. It's a given.
Click to expand...

I don't understand the comparison. Since when are phones designed to saw wood? Computers on the other hand have always been designed to run softwares...
If you want to make a comparison with a phone, the only one that would be valid would be: "my cellphone sucks at calling people."
 
bigmacrumors said:
Yes, like I said in my original post, in my opinion it is the very best OS when it comes to web browsing and doing/sharing stuff on the Internet.
But when you need to do actual work (editing a picture, editing a video,...) this OS is even worse than Windows (which is quite a feat).
Click to expand...
Actual work? In the real world the majority of actual work done is not editing but running apps in a browser. They are called cloud apps! This is what a Chromebook is good at and works very well. Even most pc and Mac users spend most of their time stuck in a browser.

When you bought it did the fact that it was basically a browser in a box not register with you and why would you ever think you could install native apps on it! It's like buying a pc and being disappointed it doesn't run Mac s/w.
 
I have to admit I didn't do my homework well before buying that computer.

I guess I was expecting better extensions and apps. Should have done better research before buying it...
 
Last edited:
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Essentially you bought a small donkey and expected it to run like a stallion ...

You paid $200, and you got $200 worth of usability and function.

Lesson is you get what you pay for, understand what you are purchasing before hand, and if something is very cheap, temper your expectation accordingly.
 
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MRU said:
Essentially you bought a small donkey and expected it to run like a stallion ...

You paid $200, and you got $200 worth of usability and function.

Lesson is you get what you pay for, understand what you are purchasing before hand, and if something is very cheap, temper your expectation accordingly.
Click to expand...

That's it exactly...

But I wasn't expecting a stallion. A regular horse would have been fine too. :D
 
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I just opened my chromebook offline (there's no Wifi in my office) and opened my free team viewer, then opened polarr and edited a photo, opened cloud magic email and looked at my emails, opened sheets, docs, presentation, and listened to music with enjoy music player.

What am I missing?
 
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lowendlinux said:
I just opened my chromebook offline (there's no Wifi in my office) and opened my free team viewer, then opened polarr and edited a photo, opened cloud magic email and looked at my emails, opened sheets, docs, presentation, and listened to music with enjoy music player.

What am I missing?
Click to expand...

Quality
 
Finaly realised how great my Chromebook is!!!

Installed Windows 10 on my laptop and turned it into a dirt cheap PC. :)
I knew I would eventually find positive points to this computer :)
 
bigmacrumors said:
Finaly realised how great my Chromebook is!!!

Installed Windows 10 on my laptop and turned it into a dirt cheap PC. :)
I knew I would eventually find positive points to this computer :)
Click to expand...

Then why didn't you just buy a cheap Windows computer?
 
I wanted to try a Chromebook. See for myself if it is worth all the fuss people make about it. Besides, where I live there is no PC cheaper than 200$ unless I get an 11" notebook...
 
There are things you can't do in chrome but for most people it works great. I replaced most of my PCs with chrome "boxes" not books, using my regular monitors. The only PC I have left is only for running quickbooks at a business but now quickbooks offers a cloud version so it will probably go. With them adding more and more to the cloud I will never go back.
 
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